Does anybody hear?
by Caramel Revenge
Summary: This is a series concerning child abuse in the Naruto universe. It is partly AU, and will concern most of the characters in chapters to come. Third: Neji Hyuuga.
1. The Sand Sibs

This story was originally in two chapters on a friend's account. I have taken it over by her complete permission. It could be considered a little AU, and may become more so in later chapters.

I don't own Naruto.

Temari was worried.

It was not because Gaara was upset, although that could be dangerous. No, it was more dangerous for her than that.

Her father was drunk and angry. When he got like this she was the one who ended up in the most trouble. Right now he was berating Gaara for existing, but eventually he'd get angry at her.

She chewed on her fingernails. If only Kankouro were here, he always knew how to guide their dad back to his easy chair where he would conk out.

Kankouro was gone to visit a puppeteering master, and so now it fell to either Gaara or Temari to get him to calm down. Which was virtually impossible, seeing as their father hated Gaara and was very misogynistic when drunk.

She really hoped he didn't try to hit Gaara or anything, because then Gaara might snap and try to kill him.

"You worthless **** demon! I wish you would ****ing die already!"

She winced. She wished he wouldn't talk to her seven-year-old brother like that. She could hear him crying very clearly.

"Where is your **** sister?! This place is a ****ing pile of ****!"

Temari began to sweat and hope that somehow Gaara would have brotherly protective instincts and not tell him.

"Why should I tell you?" came the rebellious reply. Temari breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for Gaara's recent rebellious streak. It had started ever since Gaara figured out he couldn't be poisoned because of Shukaku and therefore was basically impossible to kill.

"She's hiding in the ****ing cupboard again, isn't she?!"

Temari gasped. He didn't usually had that good of a memory when he was drunk.

She heard him come clomping over and swing open the cupboard door next to hers. She found she couldn't breathe.

And then there was his face, so similar to Kankouro's, right in hers. He sneered.

"Thought you could just hide, huh? I'm the ****ing kazekage, for ****'s sake!"

With that, he grabbed her by the hair to shove her face into any crappy-looking thing he could find, yelling at her for leaving the mess. He also claimed he wished he didn't have to do this, but she just didn't keep the **** place clean.

He ended up breaking her nose with the force he shoved it into a stone bowl (with leftover potato casserole in it), and finally he was done forcing her face into things. He let go of her hair and let her fall on her face, where she stayed, her face surrounded by tears and blood.

He suddenly seemed mellow and tired.

"I'm going to bed. Clean up your face and wash the dishes, okay?"

As if she really had a choice. Once he left, she pushed herself off the floor to do the dishes. She would take care of her face later.

As she sniffled and washed dishes, there was an observer slightly forgotten.

Gaara watched, feeling a tinge of sympathy for his sister. He wished his father didn't have to push her around like that, but his father was the kazekage, so he could do whatever he felt was necessary.

Kankouro would sure be upset when he got home.

OoOoOoO

Later that night Temari carefully cleaned her swollen nose and hoped it didn't heal crooked. Gaara still watched. It's not like he had anything better to do.

It made him feel that tinge again when she winced while trying to get the potato salad and blood off her face.

But, he reminded himself, it could have ended up worse. It had before, after all.

Kankouro would get home later and he would get all worked up again. That was how he got when his father punished Temari for letting the house get dirty or something. He could get away with it because he looked just like their father and Gaara guessed his father didn't want to hit himself so naturally he didn't want to hit Kankouro.

Temari got changed into her nightgown and curled up in her bed. Gaara sat down to watch her sleep. She had a tendency to talk in her sleep so it was more interesting than just sitting on the roof.

Throughout the night, most of what Temari said was unintelligible. However, Gaara could tell by the tone she was replaying the evening's events. It was certainly a good thing Kankouro couldn't hear this.

Morning broke, and with it came Kankouro, knocking loudly on Temari's door. He hoped there would not be the tell-tale signs that their father had gotten drunk, but the moan he got was certainly not reassuring.

Temari stumbled to the door and opened it. She braced herself for Kankouro's outrage.......

Kankouro's jaw dropped at the sight of Temari's swollen purple nose. Then anger twisted across his nine-year-old features.

"He said he wouldn't get drunk! He promised!" he growled.

Temari held up her hands as he turned to find their father and yell at him.

"Kankouro, it's not really that big of a deal. He only broke my nose. Besides, he probably has a hangover and now is probably not the best time-"

"Temari, he broke your nose! That is a big deal!"

"Well, I didn't do the dishes, so it's not like-"

"That's still not a good reason, Temari! It doesn't matter what you do, he shouldn't hurt you like that!"

She sighed and stared at the ground. It was always like this, Kankouro coming home to find her injured and then trying to handle it like the man he simply was not ready to be.

"What is all this **** racket about?" demanded a familiar masculine voice.

"Kankouro's home, father." Temari said, careful to keep her voice low. That man had to have one heck of a hangover and she did not want him mad at her.

"Oh..... Well, keep the ****ing noise down," the kazekage said as he yawned.

Kankouro scowled at him.

"You said you wouldn't get drunk!"

The kazekage rolled his eyes and sighed. "Kankouro, someday you'll understand these things. You'll be just like me someday, except you'll probably have a wife that can keep the house in order."

The deep scowl on Kankouro's face was downright ugly. "I will never be like you!" He shouted, emphasizing the last part by pointing forcefully at his father.

The man looked a little annoyed. "Do you have to be so ****ing loud? And yes, you will be just like me. If you're a man, that is."

"Real men don't beat up their kids!" Kankouro spat back. His father looked angry then. He seized Kankouro by the front of the shirt and pulled him up so they were eye level with each other.

"You ****ing listen to me now!" he growled. Kankouro was trying to stare back just as forcefully, but it was really hard to do when his father actually scared him. "I am the man of the household, and whatever I say goes! I can do anything I ****ing want!"

He threw Kankouro backwards, causing him to fall into Gaara, who had just come through the open doorway. Gaara's sand cushioned his fall and his father turned and stormed back to bed muttering, "I better not hear any more about this ****."

Temari leaned over Kankouro to see if he was okay. "Hey, are you hurt?"

Kankouro was staring at the ground with force enough to kill. "No. I'm fine." He emphasized the 'I'm' part, making Temari wince a little.

"Hey, you did your best. You know you can't beat him. He's bigger and stronger than any of us. And, hey, it's not like he's ever tried to kill me." She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She looked over at Gaara's eyes, which were watering up.

"Hey, hey Gaara..." she said, trying to be soothing, "You know I didn't mean it like that...."

Gaara turned and ran off. Temari sighed. "Great. Just great."

She turned to Kankouro. "You do realize things only get worse when you try to intervene, right?"

He frowned. "They only get worse because he doesn't listen!"

Temari sighed and set about cleaning the house. Kankouro followed her, helping out while arguing with her about his actions.


	2. Hinata and Hanabi

And here's the second chapter, completely by moi. It is about Hanabi and Hinata Hyuuga.

I still don't own Naruto, despite the passage of time.

8-year-old Hinata swung wildly at her father, feeling his increasing displeasure with every miss. She started to cry, because she so badly wanted to make him proud of her, to make him smile at her just once.

Her father stopped the training and looked down at her severely. "Crying is for weaklings!" he roared, causing Hinata to shrink back in terror.

"I'm sorry father!" she wailed, as his frown increased. "Go to your room!" he shouted, coming forward as if to hit her, causing her to scramble to her feet and run, crying, relieved to be freed from his presence but mad because she had disappointed him again.

'Why do I always do that?' she cried to herself, hugging her pillow (she was not allowed stuffed animals because she was already too soft as it was). 'Why can't I just do what he says? Why do I always do it wrong?'

She continued to cry into her pillow, feeling more worthless than most orphans.

At dinner, everyone is quiet, even her three-year-old sister, Hanabi. Hinata could feel the disdain rolling off her father in waves as she kept her head down and ate.

"Hold your fork correctly!" he suddenly said tersely. She jumped and hurried to obey, mumbling an apology while he frowned disapprovingly at her. There was nothing about her her father could not find fault with, even the way she ate was wrong in his eyes.

"Why can't you be more like your cousin Neji?" her father asked, mostly to himself. Hinata felt her eyes sting a little, but bit back any tears she might've had. Truth was, she did envy the boy. Imagine what it would be like to not have your father breathing down your neck at the slightest imperfection.....

Though she did not envy his mother, she was almost glad to be stuck with the one she had, no matter the occasional rages her mother had, they weren't directed at her, after all.

OoOoOoOoO

_five years later....._

Hinata had been banished from the clan, and Hanabi remained, to become the head someday. Honestly, it made Hanabi sad to see her sister go, but a weakling couldn't lead the clan well, after all.

Now it was Hanabi who bore the wrath of their father, his need to perfect her in every way. She was holding up much better than Hinata had, however. Or so it seemed.

She had just been banished from a training session to her room, and now sat holding her pillow. She almost cried, but bit back the tears, reminding herself of her proud heritage, and what her father would think.

The way he had torn down Hinata time after time, often with not much more than a look. Hanabi remembered Hinata's face when she was told she was too weak to be of any use to the clan, the pale, disbelieving face, her eyes starting to well up, even as she fought them back and attempted to convince her father not to leave her. He hadn't even looked back at her as she cried, and all left her in her disgrace.

She had seen what he had done to Hinata, and she would not show weakness in any form.

* * *

Poor Hinata. This is a look at emotional type abuse, and a little bit of neglect.

I think I'm going to make these chapters fairly short. Or long, if I get a good one rolling. I know this one is much shorter than the first, but the first is two chapters of a story combined. Review, please!


	3. Neji

Wow, I actually got one review.... Thanks, Specialoneoftheworld!

I still don't own Naruto, and no, I don't have a witty and clever way of saying it.

Neji lay on his floor, his face covered in his own tears and snot. His father had died several months ago, but time did not make the pain go away. Neither did his mother. Right now she was on the couch in the living room, eating popcorn. That seemed to be all his mother ever did now.

When his father was alive, she had been happy. She laughed, she played, and she hugged him and his dad. Now it was all he could do to get her to even look at him.

He sniffled, then used his sleeve to wipe his face. Why had his life fallen apart the way it had?

He got up slowly, then meandered apathetically into the kitchen. He opened the fridge. He had school this morning, and he would need to pack his own lunch. He heard his mother hiccuping on the couch, still stuffing her face with popcorn. He packed a bunch of random food (whatever they had, as his mother did not go out to get food anymore, and he had to rely on his aunts bringing by the occasional thing, or getting something from the store himself), and went out into the living room.

"I'm leaving to go to school, mother." he said, hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. He got no response, as usual. He went hesitantly out the door. "I'll be back later, mother."

At school, the other kids laughed at his lunch (Ketchup, saltine crackers, and a chunk of cheese), and his messy, haphazard appearance. The teacher (not Iruka) watched with concern, but just didn't know what to say to the Hyuuga child. He was always so distant. It seemed like there was nothing he could do to help the child break out of his shell.

The only ones who didn't tease were the foreign girl, who didn't speak too well yet, and the class dropout. They just watched with knowing eyes, understanding the pain of being made fun of.

Neji never responded to the teasers, only staring stonily ahead. He was better than them, anyway. He didn't need their approval. He didn't need affection or attention, either.

The teacher drew him aside after class, deciding to do something about the grief-stricken boy. "Hey, Neji, how are things going at home?" the teacher asked in a friendly, sympathetic tone. Neji frowned. He didn't need pity, and he didn't need help. "Everything is fine." he said coldly, sounding far older than he was.

The teacher flinched a little at the tone, but persisted. "Are you sure? You don't look very well lately, and your grades are dropping. How about you tell your mother we need to have a parent-teacher conference, alright?"

Neji's eyes narrowed in anger. He didn't understand why his mother was the way she was, but he knew it would be an embarassment for her to come out here. "We don't need your help!" he snapped, and turned and ran out the door. He resolved to get his grades up so his mother wouldn't have to come in, she just couldn't do that right now. If everyone just left her alone, she would get better, he knew she would......

* * *

This is a look at neglect, in case you couldn't tell. I was thinking up next might be Kiba or Shino or something, but I wasn't sure. Anyone have any ideas?


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